Hotline #54 - October 2, 1998

The conference committee on the 1999 transportation appropriations bill, H.R.4328, did finally meet this morning. But it was only an introductory meeting, and they must meet again, perhaps October 5. Therefore, calls and e-mails asking for the House's $609 million for Amtrak are still timely.

Amtrak service in South Florida was restored by the beginning of the week. However, the arrival of Hurricane Georges on the Gulf Coast meant that the Sunset Limited was annulled east of San Antonio, the Crescent was annulled south of Birmingham, and the City of New Orleans was annulled south of Jackson, Miss. Normal service resumed with the October 1 departures of each train from their originating terminals.

New York State announced plans to make the most sweeping investments in passenger rail in nearly a generation. The five-year plan announced by Governor Pataki and Amtrak officials on September 29 will invest $185 million -- to be split between the two parties -- with the goal of providing New York-Albany service in under two hours. Of that, $45 million is for rebuilding seven Turboliner trains so they can run at 125 mph, and thus allow each train set to run more trips in a day. That work will be done at Super Steel in Schenectady. The remaining money will go to track work, including double-tracking the notorious single-track bottleneck between Albany and Schenectady, which will improve the reliability of all Empire Corridor trains, the Lake Shore Limited, and the Adirondack. About three-quarters of the state's share of funding will come from various federal sources.

The gala rededication of Grand Central Terminal in New York City was October 1. It has undergone a ten-year renovation.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing today on the so-called "Y2K" problem and the railroad and transit industries. The Federal Railroad Administration said that all of its internal computer systems are compliant, meaning they will work at the start of the year 2000. FRA said Amtrak would be compliant by the end of the first quarter of 1999, and that the Class I freight railroads are making similar progress -- indeed, some will be ready by the end of this year. Contrary to some rumors in circulation, many electronic components on the railroads, such as grade crossing gates and many signals, do not have date components and thus are not subject to Y2K problems. However, the Federal Transit Administration said only 20% of transit agencies are compliant now, but that most expect to be by the end of 1999.

Amtrak has announced several new Thruway services to begin with the timetable change October 25. A bus from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., to Laughlin and Las Vegas, Nev., will connect with the Southwest Chief at Needles in both directions. Another will connect with the Empire Builder to and from the west at St. Paul and go to Eau Claire, Wis. Another will connect with the Pennsylvanian to and from the east at Pittsburgh and go to Wheeling, W.Va., and Zanesville and Columbus, O. Another will run from Fargo, N.Dak., to Pembina and Winnipeg, connecting with the Empire Builder to and from the east, and with the Canadian to and from the west. Finally, a bus will run from Brownsville, McAllen, and Alice, Tex., to San Antonio, connecting with the Texas Eagle to and from the north, and with the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle from the west only.

Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening (D.), in a tight reelection race, today announced plans for transit investment in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. Included were two Metro extensions deeper into Prince George's County, and a cross-suburban Metro line crossing all Maryland Metro lines.